Login to BlackFacts.com using your favorite Social Media Login. Click the appropriate button below and you will be redirected to your Social Media Website for confirmation and then back to Blackfacts.com once successful.
Enter the email address and password you used to join BlackFacts.com. If you cannot remember your login information, click the “Forgot Password” link to reset your password.
[Nation] A candidate dramatically pulled out of interviews for the four vacant positions in the electoral commission that began Wednesday over alleged forgery of academic papers.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
The IEC says that it stands ready to resume running by-elections under Level 1 lockdown, with strict Covid-19 protocols in place.
[Premium Times] \"I want to add that internet broadcasting and all online media should be included in the bill,\" Mr Mohammed said.
Malawian voters defied the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday to return to the polls for the second time in just over a year after President Peter Mutharika's re-election was annulled in a dramatic court ruling.
Tuesday's election was practically a two-horse race between the president and Lazarus Chakwera, who lost the election by 159 000 votes.
First, this election is born out of a court ruling and second, they will follow the 50-percent-plus-one system,\" the group said.
\"This is our date with destiny and this is (the) time for the beginning of a new Malawi,\" he said, expressing \"confidence\" the electoral commission will do what is right.
In a statement, the UN called on Malawi's \"political actors and stakeholders to renew their commitment to credible and peaceful elections, while observing all preventive measures against the spread of Covid-19\".
Malawi’s electoral commission appealed for “peace and calm” on Wednesday as it counted ballots following a historic poll to re-elect a president after Peter Mutharika’s victory was overturned.
It took the top court six months to sift through the evidence before concluding that Mutharika was not duly elected and ordered fresh elections.
The chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission, Chifundo Kachale, said tallying of the votes from 5,002 polling stations was underway.
Mutharika has accused the opposition of inciting violence following isolated incidents which the police and electoral commission said had not affected the election.
Mutharika, 79, did not take the decision of the constitutional court lightly when it overturned last year’s poll.
An agreement signed by government, business, and labour in support of Eskom has been called a “betrayal of workers and the public at large”.
[Monitor] Ms Lydia Wanyoto, a former candidate for the Mbale City woman MP seat, has petitioned the High Court in Mbale to nullify the election of her rival, Ms Connie Galiwango.
[DW] On October 31, Ivorians will elect a new leader. President Alassane Ouattara is running for a third controversial term. The opposition is urging supporters to shun the poll -- a political crisis appears imminent.
[Nation] Candidates at Isiolo Barracks Secondary had just been issued with Mathematics Paper I examination on March 29 at 8am when Abdi Mohammed Warsamed collapsed, causing panic in the examination room.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Former West Indies opener, Philo Wallace, has branded as “weak” the Test team chosen for the New Zealand tour, and has especially blasted the inclusion of failing opener John Campbell in the 15-man squad.
The article Wallace blasts Campbell selection in “weak” NZ Test squad appeared first on Stabroek News.
[Monitor] Most voters who turned out to vote on Thursday in several parts of Kampala City failed to heed the advice by officials of the Ministry of Health follow Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The electoral commission last week told the nation to prepare for an unusual election where campaigning will be done digitally, as the destabilizing effects of the coronavirus continue.
Justifying scientific elections
\tUganda which currently has over 700 confirmed cases of the coronavirus has been slowly easing restrictions and emphasizing measures of social distancing for all activities in the country.
The commission says it is bound by Article 61 (2) of Uganda’s constitution which tasks it to organize elections within 120 days before the expiry of the term of president, parliament or local government.
In conducting a scientific election, the commission hopes to exercise its duty to facilitate Ugandans’ right to choose their leaders in a healthy and safe environment.
The opposition politicians accuse the electoral commission of not consulting them as it drafted the revised election roadmap.
[Monitor] Presidential hopeful Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine will launch his manifesto a day later \"in light of the untimely death of senior leader Sheikh Anas Kaliisa.\"
Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga resigned in September 2008, citing health reasons. He was succeeded by Adolphe Muzito.
Presidential elections were held in November 2011. Incumbent Kabila faced opposition leader and former prime minister Étienne Tshisekedi. The International Crisis Group deemed the election unruly and chaotic and other international observers said the vote was irregular and flawed. Nearly 20 people were killed in election-related violence. Nevertheless, Congos election commission ruled in December that Kabila prevailed, 49% to 32%. In the run-up to the election, Kabila—perhaps sensing a threat from the opposition and popular dissatisfaction with his rule—amended the constitution to do away with a second round of voting and stacked the electoral commission.
In March 2012, Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito resigned. His resignation came a little over three months after the violent presidential elections. Deputy Prime Minister Louis Koyagialo was appointed to temporarily replace Muzito. On April 18, 2012, former Minister of Finance Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon was named prime minister.
[The Conversation Africa] Zambia is one of the fastest eroding democracies in the world. This is according to the Varieties of Democracy Project (V-dem), one of the most trusted sources of information on indicators of democratic progress or regression. The project's 2020 report notes that Zambia has registered a remarkably rapid decline in the quality of democracy since the last election in 2016.
The Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday announced the 2021 revised electoral roadmap and told all those interested in elective offices in the next election to use the media for campaigns.
Mr Henry Muguzi, the national coordinator for Alliance for Campaign Financing Monitoring (ACFIM), a loose coalition of civil society activists advocating for transparency in financing political parties and election campaigns, said the decision to do virtual campaigns may double the cost of campaigns.
Media houses will also aim to make a killing out of the campaigns with high costs of talk-shows,\" Mr Muguzi said.
Also to suffer the blunt of high costs to get media space will be the new comers, women and youth who may not have the financial muscle to manage such expensive campaigns.
Mr Muguzi also warned that Opposition politicians are likely not to have equal access to the radios and TVs because most media houses are either owned by the NRM party members or its sympathisers.
Uganda’s two key opposition figures, Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and People Power leader MP Robert Sentamu Kyagulanyi (aka Bobi Wine) on June 15 announced a strategy for joint political activities under the United Forces of Change.
Bobi Wine and Dr Besigye have branded their partnership a political pressure group meant to push back against President Yoweri Museveni’s government.
Before he joined mainstream politics in 2017 as a member of parliament for Kyadondo East, Bobi Wine was a Dr Besigye supporter.
At some point, the seeming popularity of Bobi Wine’s People Power created suspicion and hostility with the FDC, the largest opposition party in Uganda.
Our strategies may differ at some point but our objective is the same,” said Bobi Wine at the launch.
Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika has appointed a new electoral commission chairperson ahead of a presidential re-run.
The country’s Constitutional Court in February ordered a fresh presidential election be held within 150 days after annulling last year’s re-election of President Mutharika – a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court.
The former commission chairperson Jane Ansah resigned amid criticism by the opposition on how she managed the disputed election.
President Mutharika on Sunday appointed Justice Chifundo Kachale to head the electoral commission.
The new chairperson is expected by voters to deliver a credible presidential election devoid of irregularities as ordered by the courts.
The Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday conducted a pilot voters' registration exercise at the Accra Ridge Church to test its Biometric Verification Systems for the upcoming December polls.
The pilot was to ascertain the durability of the equipment towards a successful registration exercise scheduled for June 30.
The prospective voters spent about five minutes to go through the electoral processes at either of the two registration centres mounted at the premises, with a maximum of 20 voters observing COVID-19 precautionary measures and hygienic protocols.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times, the Public Relations Officer of the Commission, Sylvia Annoh said the exercise was smooth and was to ensure the commission identified any challenges that might occur during the actual registration and find ways of addressing them before and during the exercise.
She explained that the registration officers did not encounter any challenges during the processes or the equipment breaking down, saying, \"We are adhering to the protocols to ensure no one got infected with the virus.\"
Lawyers for Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine have filed a challenge in the Supreme Court against President Yoweri Museveni's victory in last month's election, claiming the poll was rigged.
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni took an early lead in the presidential election, according to preliminary results, but his main rival Bobi Wine said he had proof of election fraud and claimed his own victory.
West Indies head coach Phil Simmons has made it clear that Test captain, Jason Holder is always in consideration for the T20 side.
The article Holder always in T20 consideration Simmons appeared first on Stabroek News.
Violence rocked Guinea's capital Conakry on Friday as supporters of opposition leader Cellou Diallo clashed with security forces who tried to disperse them.
They threw stones and blocked roads. Police responded with teargas and bullets. The clashes erupted as soon as provisional results released by the electoral commission showed president Alpha Conde winning with a big margin.
Conde, 82, won twice as many votes as his nearest rival, opposition candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo, with 37 of 38 districts counted, according to preliminary results from the commission.
Opposition supporters accuse the electoral authorities of rigging the vote for incumbent president Alpha Conde.
Sekou Koundouno, head of mobilisation for the opposition coalition FNDC said Conde had committed 'high treason'.
\"He is an illegal and illegitimate candidate who is stubbornly pursuing his obsession to turn Guin ea into a monarchy in which, by the way, he will dictate orders to his subjects,\" said Kounduno.
Diallo maintains that he won with a landslide despite irregularities, according to his own tally. He remains barricaded in his home which security forces have besieged since Monday.
ICC warning
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor warned on Friday that warring factions in Guinea could be prosecuted after fighting erupted.
“I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages and contributes in any other way to crimes … is liable to prosecution either by the Guinean courts or the ICC,” she said.
#ICC Prosecutor #FatouBensouda: "I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages or contributes, in any other way, to the commission of #RomeStatute crimes, is liable to prosecution either by #Guinean courts or by the #ICC."
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) October 23, 2020
Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.
By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — There were no clear signs that an attack last year on two New Zealand mosques was imminent, but police should have done a better job vetting the lone gunman when he applied for a gun license, and intelligence agencies should have focused more on threats such as white supremacism, according to a new report. Among 44 recommendations, the report released Tuesday says the government should establish a new national intelligence agency. The report details how the attacker, white supremacist Brenton Tarrant, was able to live a solitary, almost ghostlike existence […]
The post Report finds lapses ahead of New Zealand mosque attack appeared first on Black News Channel.
Ugandans are engaged in heated debates over the merits, possibilities and effectiveness of participating in what is being popularly referred to as a ‘scientific election’.
The East African country is scheduled to hold presidential, parliamentary and local government elections next year.
Uganda which currently has over 700 confirmed cases of the coronavirus has been slowly easing restrictions and emphasizing measures of social distancing for all activities in the country.
How it will be conducted
Aspirants at all levels will only be able to conduct campaigns electronically via television, radio and social media, since open-air public rallies have been banned.
“This is because electoral activities involve public gatherings and hence pose high COVID-19 risk of person-to-person and object-to-person transmissions,” the commission explained in a statement.
The three months of a lockdown imposed since March across the country also means that some activities will have to be accomplished in a much shorter time.
With hardly six months to the elections scheduled to be held between January and February next year, political parties are yet to nominate flag-bearers for the different offices that will be contested.
Voting itself is to be conducted normally, with president Yoweri Museveni telling the nation on Monday that government can effectively ensure social distancing and other precautionary measures at polling stations.
“… the gathering for the elections themselves, can be safely managed with hand-washing, social-distancing or leaving gaps of the necessary metres between voters in line,” Museveni said.
“This would remove the uncertainty that would be created by the postponement of the elections but also ensure that elections are held safely. I call upon Ugandans to support this option.”
Ugandans react
Key stakeholders in the electoral process including leaders of political parties and the voters themselves have shared mixed reactions to the electoral commission’s proposal.
While the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) has welcomed the proposal and says it will adjust its programme accordingly, many in the opposition say the commission is playing into the hands of incumbent Museveni and other powerful NRM politicians.
The opposition politicians accuse the electoral commission of not consulting them as it drafted the revised election roadmap. According to the popular legislator and presidential hopef
Malawi's parliament has endorsed June 23 as the date for the presidential election re-run after a court annulled last year's vote over irregularities, a lawmaker says.
